Don't miss out on great fresh seafood: King crab, salmon, oysters, shrimp and cod are plentiful in British Columbia. Beef is king in the cattle country of the Cariboo Chilcotin area and the Kootenays. All sorts of mushrooms abound in the province, as do cranberries (Richmond, just south of Vancouver, claims to be the cranberry capital of North America). The Okanagan Valley is the province's fruit basket. Watch for roadside stands selling cherries (late June-July), apricots (mid-July to August), peaches (late July-September), apples (August-October), plums (September), pears (late August-September) and grapes (September-early October).
The Okanagan, along with the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, also produces wine, which is considered a must with meals: British Columbia is said to consume more wine per capita than any other province or state in North America. You should also try some of the microbrewed beers from the province—Victoria alone is home to seven microbreweries. A year-round selection of all the province has to offer can be found at Vancouver's Granville Island Market, open daily.
If you're going to the ski resorts, you'll find a variety of cuisines—Whistler has Italian, Japanese, French and Bavarian food—but it tends to be a bit pricey. Vancouver's multiethnic neighborhoods abound with restaurants serving food from around the globe alongside venues frequented by movie stars and run by chefs such as Rob Feenie (the only Canadian to win the Iron Chef challenge), who can claim celebrity status in their own right.
